April 6, 2012
The Diet on April 5 approved the FY 2012 budget at 90.33 trillion yen with a view to increasing the consumption tax rate and cutting welfare spending.
At a prior budget committee meeting of the House of Councilors, Japanese Communist Party member Yamashita Yoshiki took the floor in opposition to the budget draft, stating that the proposed budget will have a negative impact on people’s livelihoods as well as the country’s economy and finance.
He also criticized the budget draft as cutting into many social welfare programs with the decrease in pension benefits, an increase in healthcare insurance premiums for the elderly aged 75 and older, an increase in nursing-care insurance premiums, and the abolition of child-rearing allowances.
The Upper House on this day voted against the budget draft at its plenary session due to the opposition of the JCP and other opposition parties. However, based on the Constitution stipulating that the Lower House has preeminence over the Upper House, the budget draft gained final approval.
Under the FY 2012 budget, government compensation bonds will make up for the loss after halving the government share of contributions to the basic pension, and an increase in the consumption tax will be used for the repayment of bonds.
The FY 2012 budget includes spending for a series of wasteful large public works projects, including the construction of the Tokyo beltway costing 100 million yen per meter and the Yamba dam project which the Democratic Party of Japan had once promised to cancel.
The government will purchase four F35 fighter jets at a cost of 39.6 billion yen in this fiscal year and will buy 38 more in the future.
As for the so-called “sympathy budget” for the stationing of U.S. forces in Japan, the FY 2012 budget earmarks 186.7 billion yen, up 900 million yen from the previous fiscal year. The budget maintains 420 billion yen for the promotion of nuclear power generation.
In response to demands of financial circles, the DPJ government will provide generous tax breaks for large corporations and large asset holders and will extend the preferential tax cut for capital gains amounting to 2 trillion yen a year.
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Asked by reporters for a comment on the approved budget, JCP Chair Shii Kazuo said that the FY 2012 budget “opens the way for the ‘uniformed reform’ plan to raise the consumption tax while simultaneously cutting social welfare services such as pension, healthcare, nursing-care, and child-care programs.”
Shii stated, “The JCP will work even harder to scrap the consumption tax hike bill by pushing forth our counterproposals to overcome the ongoing financial crisis and improve social welfare programs without imposing an increase in the consumption tax.”
Pointing out that 50-60% of the general public in opinion polls opposes the Noda government plan to increase the consumption tax rate, Shii stated, “The Noda Cabinet should sincerely heed public opinion and abandon the plan.”
At a prior budget committee meeting of the House of Councilors, Japanese Communist Party member Yamashita Yoshiki took the floor in opposition to the budget draft, stating that the proposed budget will have a negative impact on people’s livelihoods as well as the country’s economy and finance.
He also criticized the budget draft as cutting into many social welfare programs with the decrease in pension benefits, an increase in healthcare insurance premiums for the elderly aged 75 and older, an increase in nursing-care insurance premiums, and the abolition of child-rearing allowances.
The Upper House on this day voted against the budget draft at its plenary session due to the opposition of the JCP and other opposition parties. However, based on the Constitution stipulating that the Lower House has preeminence over the Upper House, the budget draft gained final approval.
Under the FY 2012 budget, government compensation bonds will make up for the loss after halving the government share of contributions to the basic pension, and an increase in the consumption tax will be used for the repayment of bonds.
The FY 2012 budget includes spending for a series of wasteful large public works projects, including the construction of the Tokyo beltway costing 100 million yen per meter and the Yamba dam project which the Democratic Party of Japan had once promised to cancel.
The government will purchase four F35 fighter jets at a cost of 39.6 billion yen in this fiscal year and will buy 38 more in the future.
As for the so-called “sympathy budget” for the stationing of U.S. forces in Japan, the FY 2012 budget earmarks 186.7 billion yen, up 900 million yen from the previous fiscal year. The budget maintains 420 billion yen for the promotion of nuclear power generation.
In response to demands of financial circles, the DPJ government will provide generous tax breaks for large corporations and large asset holders and will extend the preferential tax cut for capital gains amounting to 2 trillion yen a year.
* * *
Asked by reporters for a comment on the approved budget, JCP Chair Shii Kazuo said that the FY 2012 budget “opens the way for the ‘uniformed reform’ plan to raise the consumption tax while simultaneously cutting social welfare services such as pension, healthcare, nursing-care, and child-care programs.”
Shii stated, “The JCP will work even harder to scrap the consumption tax hike bill by pushing forth our counterproposals to overcome the ongoing financial crisis and improve social welfare programs without imposing an increase in the consumption tax.”
Pointing out that 50-60% of the general public in opinion polls opposes the Noda government plan to increase the consumption tax rate, Shii stated, “The Noda Cabinet should sincerely heed public opinion and abandon the plan.”
